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Here's an old chestnut: Nuts to beer
Chestnut beer is being touted as a profit generator for chestnut growers.
The edible chestnut market is becoming increasingly profitable, and members of the Chestnut Growers, Inc., cooperative, a group of 36 Michigan growers who produce and sell nuts, continue to look for new ways to market their crop. After tasting a chestnut beer produced by an amateur home brewer from Laingsburg, growers realized that many possibilities exist for marketing the popular nut.
With help from Michigan State University (MSU) professors from the departments of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, and Horticulture and the MSU School of Packaging, chestnut growers learned how to grow their crop and let others become aware of their efforts. Growers invited brewers from around the state to a gathering at the Rogers Reserve in Jackson to sample the product.
After hearing about the beer, Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter became interested in the concept and set forth to produce a beer using chestnuts. Jeffries named his product Fuego del Otono ("autumn fire").
"I thought it might be fun to brew a traditional modern beer made from chestnuts," Jeffries said. "Chestnut beer is sure something we don't see very often."
Though chestnut beer has been brewed in Europe for many years, until recently there was no record of any being produced and distributed in the United States. Jeffries produces the only bottled chestnut beer commercially available here.
In contrast to most beers - which are made from and flavored with barley - Jeffries uses the carbohydrates found in chestnuts as a source of flavor in the beer. Jeffries makes a mash from barley and boils the chestnuts. Once combined, the barley mash, which is full of enzymes, helps break down the starches in the chestnuts and removes the nuts' flavor.
"The beer has a fantastic flavor," Jeffries said. "It tastes like fall and brings to mind leaves crunching under your feet on a sunny autumn day."
Michigan chestnut growers are also excited about the concept of chestnut beer and the opportunity to sell more nuts.
"Chestnut beer is a consumable that uses chestnuts - therefore, growers will be able to make a profit from selling nuts and breweries will be able to make money, too," said Dennis Fulbright, MSU professor of plant pathology and adviser to Chestnut Growers, Inc. "This is a new product and another source of income for our state. Though the amount of chestnuts sold right now is still relatively small, this shows that new Michigan-made products can be developed, processed and marketed from our natural resource base."
Jefferies said the chestnut beer has been so popular that he has already sold his entire supply. He plans to brew at least twice as much next year.
MSU researchers have conducted several research projects with chestnuts with funding from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), Michigan's plant agriculture initiative at MSU. Projects have included a feasibility study to determine the market potential for edible chestnuts in Michigan, consumer studies in which sensory panels tasted chestnuts stored by various short- and long-term storage methods, and studies to determine the best methods for processing, storing and packaging chestnuts.
For more information...
About Michigan's plant agriculture initiative at MSU, visit www.greeen.msu.edu.
Source: MSU
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